Gant watch, episode 8

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Moorpark College star receiver Chris Gant continues to astound on a weekly basis.

Despite suffering from an abscessed tooth, the sophomore broke his own school record with 17 receptions for 238 yards and all three Raiders touchdowns Saturday, including the game-winner on fourth down with 33 seconds to play.

"They were double-covering him, sometimes triple covering him, and he was still able to get the ball," said quarterback Zach Shultis. "When you see him go up with a cornerback, you know he's the one who will come down with the ball."

All three scores were highlight-reel material, but his best catch of the night probably came nine plays before the game-winning score. On third-and-10 from the Moorpark 47, Gant somehow made a sprawling catch on his backside to keep the drive alive.

"That was an absolutely phenomenal catch," said Shultis. "I put it a little bit too far outside, I still don't know how he was able to sprawl out and get that ball... He's just been unreal."

As a sophomore, Gant now has 72 catches for 1,041 yards and 16 touchdowns. All three figures lead the state.

The single-season reception figure is a school record, breaking the mark set by Isaiah Mustafa in 1994, and the yardage mark is 45 yards short of Mustafa's record.

He now has 136 catches for 1,852 yards and 32 touchdowns on his career. The reception and yardage figures have bettered the 25-year-old school records set by Dan Russell in 1984-85 (100 rec., 1,729 yards).

Saturday's 17-catch, 238-yard performance broke Gant's own school record of 16 set Sept. 22 against Hancock and was 12 yards short of Curtis Marsh's 250-yard performance set in 1991 against Ventura.

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Ventura County Star sports writer and columnist Joe Curley covers college sports and soccer for this Star. This is the place to click for local college football and basketball coverage, including USC, UCLA, Moorpark College, Ventura College and Cal Lutheran.

Curley will update from live events and also interject with periodic comment on both international soccer and the local Ventura County Fusion.